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Symantec joins companies turning against NRA

San Jose Mercury News (CA)

Feb. 23--MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Cybersecurity company Symantec on Friday joined a rising wave of sentiment against the National Rifle Association, becoming the first major Bay Area business to cut ties with the group.

Symantec added its voice to a nascent corporate movement against the NRA's policies with a short statement confirming that it is ending a program that gave big discounts to NRA members who purchased Symantec's line of Norton Security software offerings.

"Symantec has stopped its discount program with the National Rifle Association," the company spokesperson said in a statement.

Symantec didn't say if it was ending the NRA discount program immediately, and gave no further details on the matter.

The company's decision to end the Norton discount program came as businesses across the corporate spectrum have started abandoning benefits programs for NRA members, following the shooting deaths of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. The gunman, alleged to be a former student at the school, was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle during the massacre.

A Symantec website detailing the NRA member offers was still up on Friday. According to the site, NRA members could get significant price cuts on their their first year of Symantec's Norton Security software products. For example, the standard version of Norton Security would cost an NRA member $32.99 as opposed to the regular price of $69.99. The premium version of Norton Security could be bought for $37.99, down from $89.99, and the price of Norton Security Premium software was discounted to $47.99 from $109.99.

The backlash against the NRA began late Thursday when the First National Bank of Omaha, the largest privately held banking group in the U.S., also said that it wouldn't renew the contract for its NRA-branded Visa credit card program. The credit card had given users a $40 bonus card and 5 percent back on gas and sporting goods store purchases.

By Friday, the car rental company Enterprise Holdings said that its three brands -- Enterprise, National and Alamo -- would end a similar discount program for NRA members, effective March 26. Enterprise rival Hertz took to Twitter Friday afternoon to say that it, too, had notified the NRA that it was ending its member discount program with the organization.

Insurance giant Chubb also dropped ties with the NRA, saying it would no longer take part in the "NRA Carry Guard," a program by which Chubb underwrote NRA-branded insurance policies for gun owners. Chubb said it notified the NRA three months ago that it would end its participation in the program.

"There is a possibility we could see other companies in many industries do the same thing," said Tim Bajarin, president of San Jose-based tech consultancy Creative Strategies. "The recent shootings in Florida could be a turning point in trying to being more proactive about dealing with this serious problem."

The NRA member benefits site lists a handful of deals that individuals can receive with their memberships. Among the benefits are discounts on wine clubs, travel services and prescription drugs, which can be found at major pharmacies such as CVS, Walmart, Rite-Aid and Walgreen's.

Since the school shooting in Florida, citizens and politicians have condemned the NRA for its ongoing support of the right of Americans to legally buy just about any kind of firearm. Various groups have mobilized, calling upon the federal government to come up with stricter laws regarding gun and rifle purchases, or to ban the sale of some specific types of firearms.

On Friday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he would support a plan to raise the age of gun purchases in the state to 21, improve security at schools and prevent people determined to be mentally ill from buying guns.